The Union Government is planning to constitute a national council for promotion of Vasthu Vidya as well as various other forms of traditional architecture and traditional sciences.
Talking to The Hindu from New Delhi over telephone, Vasthu Vidya Gurukulam (VVG) Executive Director P.N. Suresh said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Gurukulam, a State-run institution for promotion of Vasthu Vidya and Mural painting at Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district, to prepare a project report for setting up the proposed national body.
Dr. Singh announced the decision at a meeting with Kerala’s Cultural Affairs Minister M.A. Baby in New Delhi on Friday after receiving the project report on the documentation of 54 traditional architectural structures in south India, Mr. Suresh said. The Gurukulam has carried out documentation of 54 traditional architectural sites, including those at Hampi in Karnataka, Kancheepuram, Thanjavur and Madurai in Tamilnadu, as part of a Centrally sponsored project with financial assistance from Union Ministry of Tourism.
Mr. Baby also handed over the detailed project report in DVD format to the Prime Minister on the occasion.
Principal Secretary to Prime Minister T.K.A. Nair, who is also the Gurukulam Chairman, and Mr. Suresh also took part in the discussion held at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Mr. Suresh said the Prime Minister had made it clear that the government would extend every possible assistance to the Gurukulam for promotion and propagation of traditional sciences at the national and international level. Dr. Singh also said that the Gurukulam should take necessary initiatives in this regard, he added.
Nodal agency
The Union Ministry of Human Resources had identified VVG as the national nodal agency for Vasthu and related subjects four years ago.
The Gurukulam was also the implementing agency for various projects under the Endogenous Tourism Project sponsored by the Union government and the United Nations Development Programme in Aranmula.
Dr. Singh was presented with a mural portrait of his own made by the Gurukulam mural artists Suresh Muthukulam and Indunath on the occasion.
Dr. Singh also lauded the Gurukulam’s own pension-gratuity fund and various other projects launched by it, Mr. Suresh said.
